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TIJUANA  This city broke out in celebration Sunday night as fans honked horns, waved flags and hollered from their cars after the Xolos soccer team captured Mexico's most prized sports championship.

Within a half-hour of the game’s conclusion, thousands swarmed a traffic circle in Tijuana’s Río Zone, converging at the foot of the giant statue of the Aztec warrior Cuauhtémoc. Some fans tossed confetti, others sprayed beer, but mostly they just shouted. And shouted. And shouted.

Fans streamed in from all parts of the city to this traditional celebration spot. “It’s the entire city, getting together and getting excited,” said Karla Villela, a 15-year-old high school student who waved a large Xolos flag and wore a Xolos jersey.

Alberto Capella, Tijuana's public security secretary, estimated that 100,000 residents were out celebrating the Xolos victory in different neighborhoods of the city of 1.7 million.

Festivities were being prepared for the returning team members at midnight at Caliente Stadium, the Xolos' home venue. A parade in their honor is scheduled for Monday at 1 p.m. starting from the stadium, Capella said.

Julio César Martínez Silva, a 43-year-old security guard, said the Xolos' victory filled him with pride. "The entire country used to say Tijuana is crime and drugs," he said while standing outside Caliente Stadium with his two sons. "It's great that a ball can transform it into a place of togetherness."

For so many years, “we lived in the shadow of San Diego, which has the Padres and the Chargers,” said Ernesto Rivera, a 34-year-old trade specialist who joined in the Río Zone festivities. “Tijuana had nothing, but now we have something to be proud of.”